The present invention relates to a sulfur-based asphalt-aggregate composition useful as a concrete or as a construction or road-building material.
Compositions which contain asphalt, sulfur and mineral aggregate and which are prepared at a temperature between 120.degree. and 160.degree. C. are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,837. British Pat. No. 970,199 also discloses compositions containing asphalt, elemental sulfur and mineral aggregate. The compositions of both of the above-mentioned references are, in general, prepared by first mixing elemental sulfur and asphalt and then combining the sulfur-asphalt with aggregate.
Canadian Pat. No. 755,999 discloses "an improved bituminous paving composition consisting essentially of particulate inorganic aggregate, the void spaces between the aggregate particles being substantially filled with a continuous phase of asphalt having dispersed therethrough a discontinuous phase of elemental sulfur, the weight ratio of sulfur to asphalt being at least 1:1."
Canadian Pat. Nos. 781,353 and 744,626 are similar to the above-mentioned patents.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 286,627 has been offered for license by the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Ser. No. 286,627 is directed to a coating composition prepared from elemental sulfur, dicyclopentadiene, glass fiber and talc.
A United Nations report entitled "Utilization of Sulfur and Sulfur Ores as Construction Materials in Guatemala" by Alan C. Ludwig dated July 14, 1969, Report No. TAO/GUA/4, describes preparation of a coating or mortar composition using elemental sulfur, fibers such as asbestos and a plasticizer such as LP-3 (trademark for an organic polysulfide polymer product of Thiokol Chemical Corp.), or dipentene as a plasticizer. Dicyclopentadiene was also suggested in the report as a plasticizer, although it was not used because it was not locally available. According to the report, for testing purposes 3 concrete blocks were butted end-to-end, and the exterior of the joints was painted over with a coating to a thickness of approximately 1 to 2 mm. The joints thus obtained were sufficient to support the weight of a man.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,000, to M. D. Barnes, is similar to the above-mentioned report. The formulation used in the Barnes patent to hold concrete blocks by painting on the exterior thereof was a mortar consisting of sulfur, fibers such as glass fibers and a plasticizer such as LP-3.